Awake My Soul
by LaughterLines
Summary: Nellie Gilbert just wanted to be normal. After her parents died she thought it would be difficult to accomplish. After a vampire and his sexy older brother show up in Mystic Falls, she knew it would be damn near impossible. And when she and her twin sister Elena are thrown into the middle of all their supernatural drama, well, she doesn't know why she isn't dead already. Damon/OC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Sooo, this is an edited version of my old story, Love and Affection, and it's just something that popped into my head a long time ago. It follows Season 1, and will go into the seasons beyond as well. Let me know what you think! ****Oh, and the _beautiful_ cover was made by the lovely Ayita TDA (thanks so much hun!)**

**! #$%^**

"Nellie," She could hear a voice whisper, attempting to pull her out of her sleep.

She turned away from the source of the noise, pulling the covers up over her head. She should have known that it wouldn't help anything, but couldn't really bring herself to care. All she wanted was just a little more shut eye time.

"Five minutes…" She mumbled, and began drifting off once again. Of course, not two seconds after she fell back asleep, the damn person had to come and wake her back up.

"_NELLIE_!" That time the person screamed much louder than necessary, _right_ next to her ear. Nellie could instantly feel her anger rush to her chest, and she let out a frustrated shriek, and launched herself out of bed and onto the person who thought that screaming was such a _brilliant_ idea.

"_Oof_!"

She looked down to see her sister Elena underneath her, who now had an angry glare on her face. Nellie just stuck her tongue out at her sister, before rolling off and lying down on the ground beside her. Elena shook her head as she chuckled softly, and then stood, offering a hand that Nellie reluctantly took. Nellie grunted as she stood upright, her head spinning slightly. She looked over at Elena (who had a giant grin on her face), and smacked the back of her sister's head.

"Ow! What was that for?" Elena grimaced, and rubbed at the sore spot. Nellie shot her a look that told her exactly what she did, and shook her head.

She walked over to the door to the bathroom that she and Elena shared with Jeremy. Yes, they had to share a bathroom, and yes, she had to share a room with her sister. There weren't enough rooms in the house for each of them to have their own, and since Elena was her twin, it made the choice easy.

Yeah, yeah; the great and mighty Elena Gilbert was her twin. And it kind of sucked. Just a little… maybe a lot? She didn't really know.

Elena and Nellie had a complicated relationship, and neither of them really knew what to do. Before their parent's had died, they were both extremely close to each other. They were vastly different in their personalities, but that didn't matter, and they had done everything together. But lately things were different.

Elena and Nellie didn't have anything in common anymore, except their shared grief over their parents, and they couldn't exactly hang out and bond over that. Elena just got on Nellie's nerves more often, and even though she doesn't mean it, Nellie snaps at her constantly.

She felt kind of bad about it, but she didn't know what to do.

Jeremy was a lot easier to relate to nowadays, and they had both grow close over the summer. Even if he was one of the biggest pill poppers Nellie knew. Yes, she knew that her little brother dealt out prescription drugs, and _no_, she don't like it, but what could she do? Both Elena and Nellie have tried to get him to stop for _ages_ now, but it did no good.

It was one more thing to add to the list of things that suck.

Nellie shook her head, and knocked on the door to Jer's room, and when she got no answer she simply barged right in. She planning on bugging the hell out of him, but at the sight of her little brother sleeping so peacefully, she left and went back to her room. Elena was writing in her journal when she walked back in, scribbling whatever feelings were inside her head at the time.

Nellie didn't understand her.

They had always been different; Nellie was the brash one, doing all the stupid things that Elena had to come and save her from, while _Elena_ was the sweet, popular, cheerleading type. And Nellie knew that there was so much more to Elena than that, but that was the only way she could sum it up.

And maybe it was because she was jealous of her sister. And oh, she _was_. Elena always seemed to have it together, always seemed to have control over things. She knew what to say, what to do, how to act; it all came naturally to her. She was good at everything, and Nellie just _wasn't_.

Nellie may be brash and bold, but she was also scared and angry. She couldn't control what she said, she couldn't act calm and collected. She hated crowds, hated having to confront people (though it may not seem that way to her friends), and she never knew what to do.

They were vastly different from each other, on the inside _and_ on the outside. Now, they did look extremely similar to each other, with their brown hair and brown eyes and ivory skin, but somehow Nellie didn't get Elena's perfect nose, or her lips.

Life sucked.

Nellie sighed to herself, and since it seemed that there was no way she would be able to go back to sleep, she started to get ready for the first day of school.

Gah_; school_.

School and Nellie didn't really… _get_ _along_, what with it being so long and boring, and her being so _Nellie_. She went and got pretty good grades, but only because of her Mom and Dad.

There was a sudden pang in her chest at the thought of her parents. She clenched her eyes shut to stop the stinging in her eyes, and sighed. It had only been a short while since they had , so the wound was still wide open and new. She gulped, and shook her head from side to side.

_No_.

She wasn't going to do this. She was going to get dressed, go to school, hang out with her friends, and above all: _she wasn't going to cry_.

She had shed too many tears already, and now it was time to be okay. She was going to be okay: she had Elena and Jer, and even her Aunt Jenna, who were all going through the same thing as her, and they seemed to be doing okay. And if they could handle it, she sure as hell wasn't going to break down and start crying. She was going to be the strong one for once in her life.

She finished getting ready, and rushed down the stairs to get some coffee for the morning.

When she got into the kitchen, Aunt Jenna was already there, looking for something in the refrigerator.

"Toast. I can make toast," She offered, obviously trying to be helpful.

Aunt Jenna had always been sweet to them, but sometimes it was a little much. Nellie held up an empty coffee cup, smirking softly.

"It's all about the coffee, Aunt Jenna," She said.

"Is there coffee?"

Nellie turned to see Jer walking towards her. She started to fill up her cup as Aunt Jenna ran around trying to get everything that she would need for the day.

"Your first day of school and I'm _totally_ unprepared," She muttered to herself. Nellie smiled, and was about to say something when Jeremy took her coffee from her, taking a sip as he walked.

"Alright then! No coffee for me…" She rolled my eyes, and nudged Jer with her shoulder. Elena came down the stairs then, looking happier than usual. That was a good thing for her, because she'd had enough of her twin sulking around the house all of the time. Her depressing mood had made _her_ depressed.

"Lunch money?" Aunt Jenna asked the three of them, holding out several dollar bills.

"I'm okay," Nellie said.

"I'm good," Elena mirrored her.

Jeremy looked at the money, then back at the two of his sisters. He shrugged, and took it, stuffing it into his pocket.

"Anything else? A number 2 pencil?" Jenna asked, more to herself than to any of the teenagers. "What am I missing?"

"Didn't you have a big presentation today?"

Elena asked. Aunt Jenna looked down at her watch.

"I'm meeting with my thesis advisor at…. Now." She sighed, and took her hair down from her ponytail. "Crap."

"Then go. We'll be fine." Nellie said, shooing her aunt with her hands. Jenna looked relieved, and smiled a thank you at them before rushing out of the house. Nellie walked over to her backpack, slinging it over one shoulder. She mentally went through everything she would need for today, making sure she didn't miss anything.

"You guys okay?" She looked up from the ground to find Elena staring at both Jeremy and herself. She rolled her eyes, and took a sip from Jer's coffee. Jer scoffed at her, and ripped the coffee back out of her hands.

"Don't start." He said, looking more annoyed than usual.

Nellie sighed and patted her sister on the back, shaking her head.

"Nice going, Elena darling," She spoke, before sitting down to watch the news.

**! #$%^**

When Bonnie got to the house to take the two of them to school as usual, Nellie ran out of the house and jumped into the backseat of her blue car. Elena walked out after her, sliding into the passenger seat.

"Hey Elena, Nellie," Bonnie greeted us.

"Hey,"

"Hi," Elena and Nellie spoke at the same time. Bonnie smiled, and they drove off to the school. Elena was busy staring off out of the window, and Nellie was fiddling with her painted white nails.

"So Grams is telling me I'm psychic," Bonnie began talking. "Our ancestors were from Salem, witches and all that,"

Elena glanced over at Bonnie, barely listening.

"I know, crazy, but she's going _on_ and _on_ about it." Bonnie said, motioning with her free hand. "I'm like; put this woman in a home already! But I started thinking, I predicted Obama, and I predicted Heath Ledger. And I still think Florida will break off and turn into little resort islands." She said.

There was silence, and she looked over at Elena, who was still staring out of the window.

"Elena! Back in the car," Bonnie smiled and shook her head. Elena turned to face her best friend, frowning.

"I did it again, didn't I? I'm sorry Bonnie." She said, sighing. "You were telling me that-"

"Bonnie's psychic now," Nellie chimed in.

Bonnie looked back at her and smiled.

"At least _someone_ was listening," She chuckled. Elena raised her eyebrows and smiled.

"Right, okay. Then predict something about us," She said, challenging Bonnie to come up with something. Bonnie smiled, and stared at Elena and Nellie for a while, occasionally looking back to the road.

"Right. I see-"

Right at the moment, a black bird hit the windshield, and Bonnie laid on the brakes, swerving over to the side of the road. Nellie's head roughly smacked the side widow, and she groaned, rubbing the soon to be bruise.

"What was that?" Bonnie gasped, turning to them. "Oh my God!" She sighed.

"Elena, Nellie, are you guys okay?"

Nellie only moaned as a response, still grimacing because of her head. Elena looked pale, more so than usual, and she nodded quickly.

"It's okay. I'm fine." Elena let out a shaky breath. Bonnie looked concerned, but seemed to believe her.

"It was like a bird or something; it came out of nowhere,"

"Really, we can't be freaked out by cars for the rest of our lives," Elena said, and Bonnie nodded.

It was quiet for a moment, but then she turned back to the both of the girls, smiling widely.

"I predict that this year is going to be kick-ass. And I predict all the sad and dark times are over, and you guys are going to be beyond happy," Bonnie said, looking back and forth between the two of them. Nellie smiled warmly at her, and nodded in agreement.

As soon as they had gotten themselves together, they got back onto the road and headed to school, making it there in record timing. They made their way into the school and walked down the hallways, surveying everyone as they went.

"Major lack of male real estate," Bonnie commented, and Nellie couldn't help but to agree. There were no guys that caught her eye this year. How sad.

"Look at the shower curtain on Kelly Beach! She looks a hot—Can I still say 'trannie mess'?" She asked, turning towards her friends. Nellie smirked, and Elena shook her head.

"No, that's over," She said. Bonnie groaned.

"Ugh. Find a man and coin a phrase. It's a busy year," She said, her eyes flickering towards something behind Elena. Nellie followed her line of sight until her own eyes landed on Matt, who was staring intensely at her sister. Can she say creepy?

Elena caught sight of what they were staring at, and turned around to face him. She raised a hand in a greeting, but he just grabbed his books and slammed his locker shut with more force than necessary. Nellie raised her eyebrows and looked at Elena with a small frown. Elena just sighed.

"He hates me…"

"He doesn't hate you, Elena, his heart is broken," Her sister explained. "There's a difference." She pointed out. Bonnie nodded in agreement.

"That's not hate. That's 'You dumped me, but I'm too cool to show it... but secretly I'm listening to Air Supply's greatest hits.'"

Nellie chuckled at Bonnie's words, and was about to say something to her sister when someone flung their arms around Elena's neck, startling all of them.

"Elena! Oh my God!" A high pitched voice shouted out in sympathy.

Nellie groaned quietly when she realized who it was. It was Caroline, one of their oldest friends. Oh, dear God... I mean, she was nice enough, but she was a little bit too girly for Nellie. And way too flirty for her own good.

Nellie tried to edge behind Bonnie, but it was too late. Caroline caught sight of her, and flung herself at the girl. Nellie huffed, and patted her back awkwardly.

"Nellie!" Caroline squealed. After a while she pulled back, putting one hand on Elena's shoulder, and the other on Nellie's.

"How are you guys? It's so good to see you!" She said, staring intensely at the two sisters. Before they had a chance to answer her, she turned to Bonnie.

"How are they? Are they good?" She wrung her hands, worried for their sakes. Nellie scoffed and rolled her eyes, but luckily Caroline didn't notice. Elena shook her head, and leaned towards her blonde friend.

"Caroline, we're right here." She said slowly, as if talking to a five year old. Well, with Caroline, it _was_ like talking to a five year old, Nellie supposed.

"And we're _fine_, thank you," She added, hoping it would make her get off of their backs. I mean, they had just lost their Mom and Dad. Elena and Nellie were in the car _with_ them when they _died_! Of course they weren't okay! And they didn't want anyone's sympathy, either.

"Really?" Caroline asked. Nellie had had enough of her, and was going to give her piece of her mind.

"_Seri_-"

"Yes, much better," Elena cut her sister off, knowing what she was going to say. Nellie glared at her, but she just kept smiling at Caroline. She shook her head, but stayed silent.

"Oh, you poor things," Caroline sighed, and pulled them both in for a 'group hug'. Nellie's eyes narrowed, and she had to push back the urge to sock Caroline in the face.

"Okay, Caroline." Elena said, pushing on her gently and trying to get her off of them. Caroline stayed that way for at least thirty more seconds, before finally pulling away.

"Okay!" She said, clapping her hands together happily. "See you guys later?" She asked, smiling.

"Okay! Yeah..." Elena said, trailing off as Caroline skipped away from them. They both kept smiling until she was out of sight, making sure that she wasn't going to pop up out of nowhere once again. They turned back to Bonnie, and upon seeing her face, they both shook their heads.

"No comment." Nellie said, nearly face palming herself right then.

"I'm not going to say anything." Elena agreed with her. Nelie laughed, and motioned for the three of them to move down the hallway. Anywhere away from Caroline is a place she'd _gladly_ go.

They continued walking down the hallways until they passed the main office, where Nellie caught sight of a back that didn't look familiar to her. Bonnie noticed it as well, because she stopped the group by holding out a hand, and motioning towards the guy.

"Hold up. Who's this?" She asked. Nellie turned to get a better look at the guy, and saw him wearing a jacket and some _very_ nice looking jeans.

"All I see is back," Elena shrugged.

"It's a hot back." Bonnie said, staring intensely at the mystery man. Elena and Nellie giggled, both agreeing with her. He definitely had a very good looking back, and she couldn't wait to see his face. Maybe they'd finally get a hot guy at their school!

"I'm sensing Seattle. And he plays the guitar," Bonnie predicted for them. Nellie scoffed, and turned to face her.

"You're really going to run this psychic thing into the ground, aren't you?" She asked, shaking her head. It was funny, that much was true, but she could foresee this becoming their inside joke for the rest of the year.

"Pretty much." Bonnie shrugged, smirking slightly.

"Well-"

"Jeremy, good batch, man!" A guy shouted from across the hall.

Nellie's smile immediately fell from my face, and she turned, hoping it was another Jeremy that the voice was talking about. She caught sight of Jer heading into the men's restroom, and knew then that she had to have a talk with him. She motioned to Elena, who had seen him as well. They both sighed, and headed towards the bathroom.

"We'll be right back."

Nellie pushed the door open and glared at Jer, who was using eye drops to hide his red eyes. She marched forward and shoved past a boy who was just a little bit angry with her for it. She reached up and grabbed his face, looking at his eyes.

"Great. It's the first day of school and you're stoned." Elena shook her head, furious with their little brother.

"No, I'm not." He protested, scoffing at them.

Nellie's eyes began to sting, and she bit her lip so hard it drew blood. She wasn't going to cry, not now.

"Jer, you _promised_." She said, hoping her pain would make him feel guilty. Jeremy had promised that after the summer was over, he would quit doing drugs. She had told him that she didn't want to see his life ruined, and that drugs would lead him down a path he shouldn't be going down.

"Nell, don't do this to me..." Jeremy groaned, and shook his head. She was about to say something when Elena cut in.

"Where is it?" She asked, and pushed Nellie out of the way, searching Jer's pockets. "Is it on you?"

Jeremy slapped her hands away, and Nellie looked down at the ground.

"Stop! You need to chill yourself, alright?" Jer yelled, all trace of guilt gone from his brown eyes. Elena scoffed.

"Chill myself, what is that, _stoner_ talk?" She asked, searching Jer's eyes for something unknown to her.

"Dude, you are _so_ cool." Nellie added, the sarcasm clear in her tone. Elena reached forward, trying to find where he hid his stash.

"Look, stop! I don't have anything on me! Are you crazy?" He shouted, getting even angrier with his siblings. Nellie laughed, and stepped forward, shoving him back with the palms of her hands.

"You haven't _seen_ crazy, Jer." She said, furious with him for being such a _loser_. Elena held her sister back, and Nellie nodded her head.

He wasn't worth it.

"I gave you a summer pass, but I am _done_ watching you destroy yourself!" Nellie yelled at him. He tried to get back up, but she shoved him back against the sink. "No, no, no! You know what? Go ahead, keep it up! But we're not just going to stop bugging you about it! Elena and I will be there every time to ruin your 'buzz', you got that?" She shouted.

Just then, a toilet flushed, and a guy walked out of a stall. Nellie stood up straight, sighing to herself. It was obvious that she wasn't going to get through to him by yelling, so she tried a different approach.

"Jer, come on. I know you, I know that you're not this person," she said softly. "So don't _be _this person."

Jeremey was silent for a long time, his face softening when he looked at his sister's face, but the look quickly went away when he looked at Elena.

"I don't need this." He said, brushing past them both.

Nellie sighed, and sank down against the wall.

Jeremy and Nellie had always been close, but this was just horrible. Elena held out a hand to her, and she took it, pulling herself onto my feet. Elena shook her head, and rushed out of the bathroom with Nellie close on her tail.

She was determined to get to Bonnie, but before she could get very far she ran smack into a handsome boy. Nellie stifled a giggle when she realized that this was the guy that they had been talking about earlier. He was definitely more handsome than his back, and Nellie watched in amusement as Elena gawked at him.

"Um, is this the men's room?" The guy asked, much to both of their embarrassment. His eyes flickered back and forth between Elena and herself, before finally landing on Elena again.

"Yes, I-I wa-was just, um..." She stuttered, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't make her look like an idiot.

"I w-was just..."

_Alright, that was enough_!

"It's a long story." Nellie chimed in, hoping to help her sister out a little bit. Elena smiled at the boy, and tried to move around him, but he tried to do the same thing, ending up in front of her once again. They tried it once more, but the same thing happened.

The guy stopped, and motioned with his hand for the girls to move past him, and Elena thanked him, nearly sprinting back to Bonnie. Once they were around the corner, Nellie couldn't help it, and started laughing as hard as she could.

"Nellie!" Elena scolded her sister.

"Sorry! It was too hard to resist!" She chuckled to herself.

"Come on, let's get to class..."

**! #$%^**

"Once our home state of Virginia joined the Confederacy in 1861, it created a tremendous amount of tension within the state."

Nellie's head was resting in her hands, and she was starting to doze off. _Why was History so boring?_ She woke herself up and started to look around the classroom, trying to find anything interesting to stare at. There was the new boy, whose name she soon found out was Stefan, but he was busy staring at Elena. Occasionally his eyes would flicker towards her, but they always returned to Elena.

Nellie scoffed softly, and shook her head. _Elena always got the guys_.

"People in Virginia's Northwest had different ideas from those of the traditional deep South." She stopped listening after that, as the Civil War was boring enough without their teacher making it even worse.

She looked around the classroom once again, and caught Matt staring at Elena as well. Jeez! Were there any guys who would just leave her twin alone? And why did _she_ get all of the stares? They were both similar enough in looks! Oh well. She didn't need a guy.

She pulled out her phone, and sent a text to Elena.

**So, Mr. Hottie is staring at you. Just thought you might want to know.**

Nellie watched as Elena pulled out her phone, and checked her sister's message. She glanced over at Nellie, then at the guy, who was still watching her intently. She smiled, and leaned forward at her desk, just now starting to listen to the teacher.

Nellie felt a small smirk grow on her lips, and she rested her head on the desk once more.

**! #$%^**

**A/N: Hey guys, so that was just the first chapter. Let me know what you guys think, and whether I should continue writing it or not. Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks to those of you who followed this story (and put it in your favorites); it means a lot to me! Anyways, here's the next chapter! Let me know what you think**

**! #$%^**

After school Elena asked if Nellie wanted to go to the cemetery with her. Now, Nellie knew that going to the cemetery after school with her twin sister was a little bit creepy, but it was sort of a tradition between the two of them. After their parent's died, they had made it a normal occurrence to go and visit their graves whenever they could. Elena would write in her journal, and Nellie would just sit there and think about whatever was on her mind.

They made their way to the graveyard as fast as they could, wanting to get home before it turned dark. Once they reached their parent's headstones, Elena sat down and pulled out her diary. Now was the time where Nellie normally just sat there beside her, but she had a lot to think about today, so she decided to wander around.

"Hey, Elena? I'm just going to walk around for a little bit. See you back at home?" She asked, and Elena simply nodded, before turning back to her journal.

Nellie walked into the woods outside of the cemetery, loving all of the trees for their eeriness. She wasn't scared off by creepy things like most people were, and she had always thought that it was a little bit weird. She just didn't get frightened easily. She knew that scary movie material stayed in the movies, and that in such a small town she had nothing to worry about.

Of course, right as she thought that, fog just _had_ to start rolling by, so thick that she couldn't see more than three feet in front of her. She sighed, and pulled a loose strand of her curly brown hair behind her ear, squinting in order to see.

Suddenly, something small and black flew in front of her, and she lost it. She let out a loud yelp, and flailed her arms about, nearly tripping over a rock in the process. Nearly meaning that she _fell_, but someone _caught_ her. And she don't know what scared her the most, that black thing popping out of nowhere, or the one person who was there to catch her was a breathtakingly handsome man.

His muscled arms were wrapped around Nellie, and his light blue eyes were staring into her own brown orbs. A small smirk was on his face as he let go once she steadied myself, and she coughed nervously.

"Thanks?" She asked, not sure if she should even be thanking him, seeing as he was most likely going to murder her. But instead of pulling out an axe and chopping her into little pieces, he just continued smirking.

"You know, graveyards aren't exactly safe for little girls at this time of day. Lots of... _suspicious_ people lurking in the fog," The man said, his arms folding across his chest in a sort of model-like pose. Normally Nellie would have been swooning at the sight, but seeing as this dude was being a creeper, she knew that she needed to get out of there.

"Right. One: I'm _seventeen_, thank you very much. Two: I'm also _leaving_," She spoke, and pointedly began walking away from him.

She expected him to follow me, but as she walked hurriedly through the fog, she couldn't see him, nor hear any footsteps behind her. She started smiling, and was about to laugh at her foolishness, when suddenly the strange man popped out of nowhere once more.

She let out a loud scream, and instantly shielded her face with her hands.

"I know that I'm sexy and all, but screaming is a little much, don't you think?" He spoke, his voice sending cold shivers down her spine.

When it finally sunk in that she _wasn't_ going to die, she put down her hands and let out a deep sigh.

"Jesus..."

The man smirked.

"Nah. Not too fond of the whole beard thing,"

Nellie turned away from him and flipped him off over her shoulder, heading away from the cemetery and towards her home. She snuck a peak over her shoulder to see what he was doing, only to find that he wasn't even there. So, did she just imagine that whole encounter? Because there's no way he could have run off that fast!

Okay, she _must_ have imagined it.

She sighed, shook her head, and trudged off towards her house. The walk didn't take too long, and when she was finally in the safety of her home she made sure to lock all of the doors and windows. Just in case.

She made her way up to her room, and threw herself onto her bed. Elena was searching through their closet, looking for something to wear.

"Going somewhere?" Nellie asked her, her words muffled slightly by the blankets in her face. Elena looked over at her and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm meeting Bonnie at the Grill tonight," She said, taking a black top off of its hanger and putting it on. Nellie sighed, and buried her face into her pillows.

"Oh. Have fun..." She mumbled.

Elena tossed something at her Nellie, and it hit her back. She rolled her eyes and sat up to see that it was a nice shirt.

"You're coming with me," She stated as if it was a fact. Nellie scoffed, but smiled softly to herself afterwards. Throwing on the top, she pulled her hair into a ponytail, and went into the bathroom to put on some makeup. After she was done putting on a coat of mascara and eyeliner, she rushed downstairs to meet Elena.

She passed Aunt Jenna on the way, and stopped to let her know what they were doing.

"Elena and I are meeting Bonnie at the Grill," She said.

"Have fun," Jenna responded, and walked a couple of steps before turning back around. "Wait, I got this: don't stay out late, it's a school night," She put her hands on her hips, looking proud of herself. Nellie laughed, and nodded.

"Well done, Aunt Jenna." she complemented, before turning back around and heading for the door. She stopped when she heard voices, and peaked around the corner to see Elena talking with Stefan, the new kid from earlier today.

"Were you going somewhere?" Stefan asked Elena, and she smiled.

"Yeah, I'm meeting a friend," She paused, staring at Stefan for a moment. "Do you wanna come?" She asked.

He smiled softly at her, and then nodded.

Great. Already she's got the new guy wrapped around her finger!

"Well, sorry to ruin the party, but I'm coming too!" Nellie spoke, just now making herself known to the two lovebirds. They turned, and Elena's face took on an embarrassed look. Stefan just looked surprised.

"Don't worry, I'll sit in the back..." Nellie muttered. She smiled brightly at Stefan, and held out a hand.

"I'm Nellie Gilbert; Elena's twin. Anyway, off to the Grill!" She pushed past Stefan and got into her car, ready to be at the restaurant already.

**! #$%^**

As soon as they got there, Nellie quickly ran ahead of Stefan and Elena, who were too busy making small talk to notice her leave. She walked through the doors and quickly found where Bonnie and Matt were sitting.

"Hey guys," She said, sitting down beside Bonnie. Not two seconds after she sat down, Matt spoke.

"How's Elena doing?" He asked, looking at Nellie intently. She sighed, and shook her head.

"Our Mom and Dad just died, Matt. How do you think?" She asked sarcastically, before sighing. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be rude. Elena's putting on a good face the same as I am, but it's only been four months." She said.

Nellie knew it wouldn't be long before he brought up their break up, and she wasn't let down.

"Has she said anything about me?" He asked, looking heartbroken. Matt was Nellie's friend, so it was difficult seeing him like this, but there was no way she was doing this.

"Oh, no. I'm _so_ not getting stuck in the middle. You pick up the phone and call her," She advised him.

"I feel weird calling her. I mean, she broke up with me..." He muttered. Nellie shook her head. She knew Elena's feelings about him, she knew that she loved him like a brother, but how was she supposed to tell _him_ that?

"Give it more time, Matt," She said, trying to get out of the conversation.

Of course, right as she said that, Elena and Stefan walked in, closer than two strangers would normally be. Nellie sighed, and buried her head in her hands. Matt shook his head.

"More time, huh?" He got up and walked over to the pair, holding a hand out to Stefan, introducing himself. Nellie groaned, and looked up at Bonnie, who had the same frown as her friend.

"When's he going to realize that Elena's not into him? I feel bad telling him to 'give it more time' when we both know that Elena thinks of him as a brother…" She said, and Bonnie nodded.

"When you care for someone that much it's hard to let them go,"

Nellie twirled a strand of her brown hair around my finger, staring over at Elena and Stefan. Looking at them smile at each other; she realized that they would make a good couple. It was hard for her to say, since she was always jealous of her sister's dating life, but it was true. They just seemed to fit together, even if they only met each other today.

Caroline walked over to the two of them, and led them back to the table where they had been sitting. Matt had wandered off somewhere, and Nellie was positive that he didn't want to be here right now. Elena sat to her sister's right, and Caroline was to her left, with Stefan across from Nellie.

Eventually they started talking, but Nellie found herself zoning out for most of it. When they started talking about Stefan, though, she immediately zoned back in.

"So you were born in Mystic Falls?" Bonnie had asked, and Nellie lifted her head from her hands to look at Stefan, who nodded.

"Yeah, and I moved when I was still young," He said.

"Parents?"

Stefan hesitated for a split second, glancing over at Elena before answering.

"My parents passed away," He spoke, his eyes flickering between the sisters at the table.

Immediately, any ill feelings Nellie harbored towards him disappeared. She frowned, and crossed her arms. _Stefan had lost his parents_? She spared a glance over at Elena, and her sibling's face gave away her thoughts, which were similar to Nellie's own.

If he had lost both of his parents, then he knew their pain, which _no one_ should have to go through. Maybe Stefan wasn't as bad as she thought he was. Well, he had obviously been through a lot, so she quickly decided to give him another shot.

"I'm sorry," Elena was the one to speak, sympathy clear in her voice and facial expressions.

Stefan looked at both of them, before nodding.

"Any siblings?" Nellie chimed in, suddenly wanting to know more.

An emotion crossed over his handsome features at the question, but it was gone before she could tell what it was.

"None that I talk to," He answered, and Nellie knew that there was some drama there. But that was clearly personal, so she neatly tucked the thought into the back of her mind for a later date.

"I live with my uncle," Stefan explained.

Caroline cleared her throat, trying to direct everyone's attention back to her. Nellie rolled her eyes at the blonde's see-through behavior, but listened anyways.

"So, Stefan, if you're new, you don't know about the party tomorrow," She smiled.

Stefan glanced over at Elena, smiling softly.

"Are you going?" He asked her.

"Of course she is." Bonnie jumped in for Elena, making sure that she couldn't back out of this.

Elena smiled, looking down at the table and pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear.

After that, the flirting was non-stop, and everyone else left to do their own thing, leaving Nellie alone with the two lovebirds. They didn't seem to notice that she was still there, since they were immersed in conversation with each other. Nellie wanted to leave, more than anything, but they were her ride home. After another fifteen minutes, she was done, and decided to leave anyways.

She stood from the table rather abruptly, and Elena finally acknowledged her presence.

"Where are you going?" She asked, a frown on her sweet and innocent little face.

"Home." Nellie replied with a roll of her brown eyes.

"But how are you going to get there?" Elena suddenly seemed very concerned with her well-being, which for some unknown reason, _seriously_ pissed Nellie off. She narrowed my eyes, and roughly shoved the chair forward.

"I'm going to _walk_, Elena,"

She started towards the door, but Elena stood up from her own seat and followed her. Nellie tried picking up her pace, but Elena grabbed her shoulder right as she was about to open the door to the exit.

"Nellie, please," She begged, and Nellie let out a huff of air, turning to face her sister. "Don't walk home; it's a good forty-five minutes to the house."

Nellie felt her eyes narrow at her twin once again.

"Elena, I'm not a child, so don't treat me like one. Just go back to your date. I'll see you at home…" She muttered, brushing past her twin and out of the Grill.

At first, walking seemed like a perfectly okay idea, but five minutes into the walk home Nellie realized something about herself. She _hated_ any form of physical activity, and walking for forty-five minutes in the dark and cold was _not _going to be very enjoyable for her.

But at least she got away from her sister and her new soon-to-be boyfriend. Nellie gave a rough estimate of four days before they were a couple. She didn't really mind, but it did slightly irk her that her sister always had one guy or another. She was with Matt for a while, but there was always some other guy that she had wrapped around her finger.

It was kind of sad in a way, that, even though we were fraternal twins and looked eerily similar, and yet Nellie had never had a serious relationship before. It wasn't fair! But she just shook her head, focusing on the sidewalk in front of her. She had been walking for ten minutes already, and her legs were protesting every step of the way.

After another ten minutes, Nellie felt a slight chill creep up her spine, like the feeling you get whenever someone is watching you. She glanced up from the ground, looking around, but she saw no one. Just cracked sidewalks that were barely illuminated by the street lights above.

When she was certain that there was nobody there, she looked back down at the ground. Her head was down for only a few seconds before there was a cawing noise. She let out a small yelp, and looked up to see a black bird fly past her.

She nearly fell to the ground out of fright, but quickly chastised herself for being so scared. It was a freaking _bird_. Not a monster, or a crazy psycho killer, but a _bird_. And all of this after she had called herself _fearless_. Even so, it was just a bird, and she was perfectly fine.

But despite all the reassurances she told herself, she still ended up sprinting the rest of the way home.

**! #$%^**

"The Battle of Willow Creek took place right at the end of the war, in our very own Mystic Falls." Her history teacher droned on.

Nellie's head rested in her hands, and her eyes were slowly slipping shut. She hadn't slept very well after the whole bird incident, even though she pretended to be asleep when Elena got home. But unfortunately, the lack of sleep was catching up to her; right in the middle of history class.

"How many casualties resulted in this battle?" The teacher asked, looking out into the room for his latest victim. His eyes passed right over her, but they unfortunately landed on Bonnie.

"Miss Bennett?" He asked.

Bonnie looked up from her doodle, a panicked look on her face.

"Um…. A lot?"

There were chuckles from around the room, and even Nellie had to smirk at her friend.

"I'm not sure. But, like, a whole lot." She nodded seriously at the teacher, who raised his eyebrows at her.

"Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Miss Bennett," He said.

Nellie frowned, and found herself adding another reason to hate history onto her list: having an asshole teach it to her.

"Mr. Donovan. Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your imbedded jock stereotype?"

_What a dick._

"No, it's okay Mr. Tanner," Matt responded coolly. "I'm cool with it."

Nellie bristled as the teacher made an amused sound, and then called on her sister.

"Elena? Surely you cane enlighten us about one of our town's most significantly historical events?"

Nellie watched as Elena struggled, and she knew that her sister was panicking inside. Mr. Tanner frowned, and walked closer to Elena's desk.

"I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reason, Elena," He glared. "But the personal excuses ended with summer break."

_No fucking way_.

"Hey!" Nellie didn't hesitate, standing up in an angry flash of flushed skin. "Are you _serious_? Or are you really that much of an _asshole_ to say that shit to her?"

Mr. Tanner reddened, and he raised a threatening finger at her.

"You-"

"No," Nellie cut him off. "I don't _care_! But what you did was a _dick_ move and I'm not going to sit and just let that bullshit go!"

Mr. Tanner looked like he was going to explode.

"Out!" He shouted, his face red as a tomato. "Get _out_ of my class, Miss Gilbert, and go march yourself down to the principal's office!"

Nellie's heart was beating rapidly from her outburst, and even though she knew that she was going to be in _so_ much trouble, she didn't regret a single thing. She gritted her teeth, grabbed her bag, and started for the door.

She spared a look at Elena, who was staring at her in shock. As their eyes met, Elena gave a watery smile, and Nellie knew how grateful she was. Nellie smiled back at her, before looking back at the teacher.

"_Asshole_," She muttered under her breath.

And of course, he heard her.

"_Out!_" He screamed.

Nellie turned as she made it to the door, held out her hand, and calmly flipped him the bird. She quickly ran for the door, smiling as she heard him lose his cool once again. She stood right outside the door, trying desperately to hold in her laughter.

She caught her breath just in time to hear something from inside the classroom.

Stefan had nonchalantly mentioned the fact that there had been three hundred and forty six casualties in the battle, unless you were counting local civilians. It had been so simple, so random, that Nellie immediately gave him kudos.

Mr. Tanner was finally calming down, and apparently, Stefan's answer was correct. Nellie quickly looked in through the window, and watched the exchange.

_His last name is Salvatore. Hmm_.

Things came to a standstill when the teacher mentioned that there were no civilian casualties in the battle, and Stefan corrected him.

"Actually sir, there were twenty seven, sir. Confederate soldiers fired on the church, believing there to be weapons; they were wrong. It was a night of great loss," He spoke. "The founder's archives are stored in civil hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts, Mr. Tanner."

Nellie's smiled grew to a blinding grin as she took in Stefan's tone. Okay, fine; he was fucking awesome. Her respect for him immediately went up at the fact that he was doing this for her sister.

Her smile never left her face as she walked to the principal's office, the threat of detention never once dimming the complete awe she was in.

**! #$%^**

The disapproving frown on Mr. Webber's face as he heard Nellie's story was unparalleled. He stared her down with those beady little eyes of his, and shook his head.

"You said what, now?" He sighed, rubbing his temple with his fingers. "Miss Gilbert, you know as well as I do that those words were completely unacceptable, and-"

"He was being a jerk to my sister," Nellie cut him off. "Elena didn't know the answer to his question, so he told her off. He said that the 'personal excuses' ended with summer break. He said that in front of the entire class, sir. Isn't that against some rule or something? To openly talk about _that_ in front of everyone?" She protested.

The principal stared at her, his expression sobering as he took in her words. He held her gaze for a few seconds, before shaking his head once again.

"Nellie, I know that these past few months have been difficult, but these kind of actions are not allowed. I'll give you a break this time around, but just make sure it doesn't happen again. You'll still have to go home early, however. Take some time to cool off, Miss Gilbert, and we'll see you again tomorrow." He spoke.

Nellie had to hide her smile as she left the room. No detention? Not even a severe scolding? Mr. Tanner was going to blow his top when he finds out. Since Nellie didn't want to bother Jenna with this, she simply decided to walk home. She would explain what happened when she got off of work.

Nellie looked around her and laughed when she realized how much walking she had been doing lately. Luckily, school was closer to her house than the Grill, so it only took about twenty minutes to reach her house. Of course, once she was safely inside, she was confronted with the fact that she had another two hours before school would let out.

She sighed, and made her way upstairs, where she then threw herself onto her bed.

_Great_.

Soon enough, she fell asleep, and was woken up by Elena several hours later.

"Hmm?" She groaned, pushing herself up to her elbows.

Elena raised her eyebrows, and sat down beside her.

"What happened with the principal?" She asked, concern written all over her face.

Nellie grinned, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

"Ah, Mr. Webber just told me to go home. No detention, no scolding, not much of anything, really." She said.

"Really? That's surprising. Well, anyways, thank you," She said, looking up at her twin with her big brown eyes. "What you did, Nellie, what you _said_, it means a lot to me. So thank you."

Nellie smiled, and put an arm around her sister.

"Ah, no problem."

They both grinned at each other, before Elena hopped up.

"The party's tonight, Nell, so we need to start getting ready." She said.

Nellie frowned.

"Now? But the party isn't until like, seven or something,"

Elena just grinned.

"Yeah, but if we're going to get you dressed up in time, then we have to start now." She stated.

Nellie felt her frown deepen as she took in her sister's words.

_Oh hell_.

**! #$%^**

**A/N: So that was that, the next chapter should be out soon. Hopefully it won't follow to plotline so much next chapter, as I want Nellie to be her own character, but this was just to set the stage for the rest of the story. Tell me what you think!**


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